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Pregnancy: When To Go Off Work?

That seems like a loaded question: “When to go off work” when you are pregnant.

That’s the boat I’m in these days – when do I go off work?

I love my job, the work I do, the people I work with. How do I just pack up and leave my job for a year? Good question.

With Lilly, I saw my OB on a Tuesday and she said I was done. I asked if I could work until the end of the week (Friday) – she looked at me funny and said, “if you want to“. It was great, I had a few extra days to wrap up some reports, clean my desk and files and mentally prepare to leave work.

Friday came and went – I. was. done. work…..for a year! That thought was weird and foreign to me. I’ve only ever had two weeks vacation so the thought of being off work a year just wasn’t tangible for me.

Saturday I went to a prenatal yoga class and just managed to get through the class – oh and I was just 36 weeks pregnant. I thought I’d have a few weeks ahead of me before baby arrived.

Sunday hit – technically, it was still the weekend so I didn’t really feel like I was “off work”.

Sunday night hit and my water broke at 10:30pm – yikes! And baby Lilly was born Monday at 2:22am!!!

Just like that! My so-called few weeks of rest turned into full fledge mommy hood.

I thought I’d miss work but I didn’t even look back. A full year off with my daughter – boy was I glad that I left work “early”.

Fast forward to today, at 35 weeks pregnant with baby #2 and I am working my last day of work.

I’m beat.

I’m exhausted.

I’m so ready for the next stage to happen – baby to arrive.

I’ve slowed down my pace at work the last few weeks, declined traveling to some meetings as it was too challenging to stay awake from not sleeping the night before. I wrapped up any reports, minutes I had to write for meetings and prepared for my replacement to start.

After my Dr.’s visit yesterday morning, she determined that I need to finish work soon. I determined that I still needed a few days of work (to get my replacement up to speed) – what am I thinking you ask? I dunno. But I feel better after having spent a full day with my replacement and am fine to only work 2 days this week and be finished. There is a big part of me that wants to work this whole week with my replacement so I am able to provide her with insight to the groups I work with and attend meetings with her – but I just can’t do it all.

Some people have asked – “you must be excited to be finished“? To be honest, it hasn’t sunk in that I’m done work for another year. Sure it means I am one step closer to meeting this little baby but am I really ready to finish work?

Guess I am going to have to be ready because I finish at the end of today.

I will rest – trust me when I say this – I can’t wait to nap any time of the day. I even have a massage lined up this week!

I won’t travel far – really I don’t want to be stuck in a car having my baby in cold November/December in Nova Scotia – even with my husband who is a trained paramedic – I’m just not into that.

I will enjoy my time before baby #2 arrives – maybe even scrub the kitchen floor – HA HA gottcha on that one!

So, When Is The Best Time To Go Off Work?

It’s different for everyone. It could be week #38, two months before your due date or waiting until the last-minute.

For me, today’s the day that’s right for me.

When did you go off work with your pregnancy?

Did you wait until the last-minute?

Did you wish you would have taken more/less time off?

SIDE NOTE: I am looking for a few guest bloggers in the next few weeks since baby #2 is on the way. Please leave me a comment below or email me at pipersrunblog@gmail.com

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7 thoughts on “Pregnancy: When To Go Off Work?”

I worked up until the day I went into labor. Granted, I work from home and I was done for the day well before I did. I was also emailing my boss from my hospital bed in between a contraction to let her know.

I think I commented on this topic before on your blog: I only “got” 2.5 weeks of maternity and they weren’t actually maternity but the sum of my vacation days for the entire year (and my year goes through the end of next July). If I were able to take more time, I would. I started back to work yesterday and while they are working with me by way of setting more reasonable deadlines, it’s still hard to manage when the baby is so unpredictable in his own schedule.

I was going to try and finish work early today but it just didn’t happen – ahh well. I feel good with the work I have done and was able to spend some time with my replacement. It could have been worse.
Yes, I remember your comment. How was it going back to work for you yesterday? Hope it was smooth. How old is your baby now?

I am in this boat myself. I am just 30 weeks right now and work two jobs. One is Mon – Fri working with my hubby in the office. Then on weekend I am cutting fruits and veggies. The one on the weekend I may have to end sooner than the weekday one. Standing for 5 hours is starting to be a little difficult. I’m not entirely sure I will go back to that one at all… So many decisions!

When I do have the baby I will most likely be helping PB from home, so I am not sure how much rest I will get. I just hope if I need it, I make that clear. As amazing as he is, he is not a mind reader.